


The Diary of the Archangel Gabriel

by WorseOmens



Series: Good Omens Outsider POVs [9]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Angel Wings, Aziraphale Loves Crowley (Good Omens), Crowley Loves Aziraphale (Good Omens), Diary, Gabriel’s diary, Gabriel’s too arrogant to see the obvious, M/M, Misunderstandings, Nesting, No one loves Gabriel, One-Sided Attraction, outsider pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-19 16:28:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22067728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WorseOmens/pseuds/WorseOmens
Summary: Gabriel notices that Aziraphale is building a nest, and gets the wrong idea. He decides to record his thoughts in his diary.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale/Gabriel (One Sided), Ineffable Husbands - Relationship
Series: Good Omens Outsider POVs [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1545919
Comments: 80
Kudos: 1046
Collections: Good Omens (Complete works)





	The Diary of the Archangel Gabriel

**Author's Note:**

> This diary was found abandoned in the bottom of a ravine; translated from enochian by yours truly.

Date & Time: N/A

I realise this is unorthodox. To write one’s own thoughts is almost tantamount to pride, but I am above such sin. I had to express these strange occurrences properly, in writing. They relate to the Principality Aziraphale, who was stationed on earth in its first year to guard the way to the tree of life. He failed.

I did not hold it against him. It was a disappointment, but can he be blamed? His demonic adversary, the fallen one named Crowley, was responsible. He is a shapeshifter, and as Aziraphale has told me on many occasions, he is wily and unpredictable. He always seems very nervous when he discusses the demon. I can only imagine the trials he has undergone at the hands of this beast; his faith is admirable in the face of such adversity.

This brings me to my next concern. The principality recently founded what he calls a “book shop”. It is filled with material objects. I visited it recently, aiming to promote him back to a position at Head Office where I was sure he would be happier, but events took a different course. The demon Crowley proved too specialised an enemy for any other angel to face, but I also noticed that Aziraphale seemed very attached to his new earthly home. I have thought on the matter for a long time, and the conclusion I have reached is both daunting and unsurprising.

The “shop” is Aziraphale’s nest - or a material approximation of one, at any rate! Gross matter is a poor imitation of the nesting material that would be used in a proper heavenly nest, which is far beyond Aziraphale’s reach on earth. I was shocked at first, but the more I thought on it, the more sense it made. Of course Aziraphale would begin to nest. He has been alone on earth, with only mortal creatures for company, for thousands of years. He must be longing for real companionship by now, and nesting would be his only hope of attracting a suitable angel. 

Of course, this has implications. Any angel who has set foot in the nest has entered themselves as a potential suitor. To my knowledge, only Sandalphon and I have been inside, though it was without invitation. It would be another matter entirely to be _invited_ inside a nest; it’s a gesture that cannot be mistaken. Sandalphon is not to Aziraphale’s tastes, I expect. He is coarse, unlike that delicate touch which is very Aziraphale. This means one thing: he has set his sights on me.

How... ambitious of him.

Date & Time: N/A

I revisited Aziraphale’s nest. It has developed significantly; he is obviously still in the process of building it, and I ought to have guessed. He is a very fussy angel. He won’t invite me inside of his own free choice until he knows it is perfect (or as perfect as a material nest can be) - and quite right too. I would never accept an invitation into a shoddy nest. In fact, I still have my reservations about accepting one into a material nest. I will think on it further. I have time.

Date & Time: Earthly

I am visiting earth on a simple observation mission. I passed by the nest on my way to the assignment, and caught that demon lurking nearby. He turned tail and fled as soon as he saw me, as well he should have done, but his appearance in that area has been bothering me.

A nesting angel is the most vulnerable of us all. Aziraphale is not so defenceless in his material home as he would be nesting in Heaven, but he will never be fully safe while he is alone. Demons were angels once, they know of the sacred nesting ritual, and it turns my stomach to think of what that hideous serpent may be planning. He must already suspect that Aziraphale is vulnerable. I can do nothing as an outsider, and I cannot abandon my post in Head Office at such a busy time... Letting Aziraphale know that I am aware of his intentions will surely ruin my chances at this stage. I can only wait, and hope that the demon does not raid the nest. 

Date & Time: N/A

Patience is a virtue, and Aziraphale is testing mine vigorously. Perhaps that is exactly why is taking so long to build the nest to perfection; he wants to be certain of my suitability. As I’ve said before, he is fussy. Maybe too much for his own good! He is lucky that I’ve had no other offers since he began this little experiment of his.

The demon did not find the nest. As far as I can tell, Aziraphale is still safe. He must have misdirected the enemy to put him off the scent, and I admit I’m impressed. I saw Crowley only one street away from the nest; just one more corner and he would have found it, and the whole shop would be torn to pieces for his amusement. No doubt Aziraphale himself would have been gravely wounded in the attack. I must take some credit for saving him on this occasion - after all, I was the one who drove him away when he was on the verge of making that discovery. After I am invited into the nest, Aziraphale will be overawed to hear of my exploits for his protection. 

Date & Time: Earthly; 11 years left

Armageddon is coming at last. I have just informed Aziraphale, and it should be just the push he needs to finally complete his nest. I even slipped in a subtle little comments about clothes _not being around much longer,_ just to remind him of my interest (it was very clever). He surely isn’t blind to it. It will be a story to tell, certainly, that we nested together on the eve of the apocalypse, to then fight side by side in the Heavenly war as a mated pair, against the very enemy which had loomed over this precarious earthly nest for so long. How romantic.

Wait - that’s it! That’s why! Aziraphale is not only fussy, he is a romantic. He is so strangely fond of humans and their stories (his time on earth has left him a little warped in the mind, which I will fix in time), and this is precisely the kind of dramatic touch he must have been waiting for. That silly principality; it’s almost charming. Almost. 

Date & Time: End Times

Aziraphale has been very preoccupied of late. He’s trying to make the antichrist good again. I’m a little baffled by it, but I’ve been kind. His mind is feeble and brittle after being on earth so long, after all. He needs a delicate touch to remind him of the Great Plan; his intentions are good, after all, but futile. He’ll learn.

Date & Time: End Times

He’s beginning to irritate me. He _lost_ the Antichrist? He’s more far gone than I thought. 

Date & Time: End Times

My last entry was quite harsh. I must remember to have sympathy. His failing sanity is not his fault. What must it do to an angel, to be folded up inside a corporeal body for almost six thousand years? I almost dread the nesting ritual. His wings must be in a terrible state, and it will be my duty to restore them to their proper shape.

Date & Time: Unplanned

I am in disbelief. Not of God - of Aziraphale! What has happened to him? What happened to that docile, sentimental principality I knew? He’s utterly lost his mind.

First, he stands with that foul demon Crowley and the Antichrist child, right before my eyes. It was as if he didn’t know - or care - of my feelings. Why build my hopes for so long only to dash them so callously? He’s gone insane.

Not only did he succeed in averting the apocalypse - a silly dream that I never expected him to actually pursue - but he proved himself to be something worse. Ordering his execution was a painful choice, but there really was no choice. I won’t admit to spite. Spite is wrath, and wrath is a sin. His betrayal stung, but not enough to tempt me to sin.

In any case, he survived the hellfire. I have thought myself in circles trying to guess what awful fate must have befallen him for this to be possible. He is not a demon; I would have known if he had fallen. I cannot comprehend how an angel could do this. God is silent on the matter. 

I only see one path. He still resides in his earthly nest, and I am beginning to harbour some very disturbing suspicions about what may have happened to the Principality Aziraphale.

Date & Time: Earthly (Cont’d)

I am sickened. I am revolted. This goes beyond my worst expectations - I had thought that the demon Crowley had raided the nest without my knowledge, and left some infernal stain upon Aziraphale’s heavenly form which inadvertently protected him from the hellfire. But no, it’s worse, much worse.

I approached the shop with the same confidence that I always have. I saw no reason to cower before him; his broken mind may still see me as a friend and a suitor, after all. There’s no telling what he’s thinking anymore. 

What I saw was unthinkable. Through the blinds covering the shop window, atop a material object called a “sofa”, Aziraphale sat with his back to me, and his wings unfolded. Crowley - it was unmistakably that grotesque demon - was in the process of grooming his wings, as only a mate would. I will never forget the sight of demonic claws digging into those white feathers.

I fled from the shop. I still feel like a fool, to have believed that Aziraphale ever looked on me in that way. I had smelt evil in that shop before. I should have known it then, and when I saw the creature stalking around near the nest... Aziraphale has taken a demon as his mate, and who knows how long ago he was first corrupted? It baffles me that he hasn’t fallen - though perhaps the Almighty, in Her wisdom, knows that Aziraphale has already condemned himself to a fate worse than falling.

How appropriate.

**Author's Note:**

> The time is N/A when Gabriel is in Heaven because of Boethius’s concept of a timeless God... I’m a nerd I know.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] The Diary of the Archangel Gabriel](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29063313) by [Evillullaby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evillullaby/pseuds/Evillullaby)




End file.
